NJ Charter Group Files Ethics Complaint Against Critic
This is one of the more peculiar things I’ve heard of recently:
Let’s Hope That This Isn’t the Higher Ed Version of the NAFTA
When the North American Free Trade Agreement was formally initiated, its advocates predicted an economic boom that would benefit everyone, while its detractors warned that it would be a disaster for American workers and the natural environment. Predictably, neither side seems to have been completely right. NAFTA has resulted in the largest trading bloc in…
The Pie Is Getting Bigger . . . American Workers Helped Bake It . . . But Most of Them Aren't Getting a Bigger Slice
Remarks By U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez, AFL-CIO National Summit on Raising Wages, Washington, D.C., January 7, 2015 [as prepared for delivery] Good morning brothers and sisters! MaryBe, thank you so much for that generous introduction—and more importantly for your great work and leadership in North Carolina. Thank you, Rich Trumka, for this…
Two Charts That Show Where the Money Is in College Football
The first chart shows the average revenues per team by conference in 2013: The article in Business Insider, which includes some explanation of the chart, is available at: http://www.businessinsider.com/college-football-revenue-conferences-2014-12. The second chart shows the payout by conference from the 2014 bowl games and playoffs: The article in Business Insider, which includes some explanation of the…
Some Early Thoughts on President Obama’s Proposal for Free Education at U.S. Community Colleges
I should begin by stating that I am in favor of any proposal that provides free higher education at public colleges and universities. In fact, I am in favor of any proposal that reduces the cost to students without compromising the quality of instruction. I think that the president’s proposal will help community colleges because…
Why Sanctimony Is No Defense against Zealotry
To some extent, sanctimony is the “civilized” version of dogma enforced by social, religious, or political conformity and then, when that proves insufficient, the threat of force. There is now a great deal of attention to the nature of the satire published in Charlie Hebdo, with some commentators finding it almost embarrassingly juvenile and others…
Strange Bedfellows… at the Kiddie Table?
Twice a day, a stopped clock is right, right? Sometimes I even find something laudable in what David Brooks writes. Today, for example, I agree with his conclusion–but his argument is so bizarre that I can only surmise he got to a truth through the turning of the earth. As I wrote yesterday, I am moving…
President Obama’s Proposal for “Free” Education at U.S. Community Colleges
Tonight President Obama announced a new higher-education proposal: Make two years of community college free for responsible students across America. In our growing global economy, Americans need to have more knowledge and more skills to compete — by 2020, an estimated 35 percent of job openings will require at least a bachelor’s degree, and 30…
Baby, It’s Very Cold Outside! And Pseudo-Science Has a Ready Explanation
In response to the current spell of frigid weather, the new services have pulled out the usual graphics intended to make us shiver even when we are snug inside our warm homes: But the most original and most chilling frigid-weather graphic that I have seen comes from the Takoma Park Patch in Maryland: To put…
Nous Sommes Charlie
Yeah, I have to join in on this. “Je suis Charlie.” That’s personal. But there’s also more: We, the American faculty, are the protectors of freedom with our pens and pencils just as are the cartoonists who are taking up their tools today in defense of that which should need no defense, the right to…